The One With The Surprise
by LeahASAP
Summary: Set 3 months after the show ends, Monica makes a shocking discovery. How will it affect her, Chandler, and the rest of the Friends gang? Read to find out! :D Note: The story is T rated for mild suggestive themes, but is in line with the show's rating (in other words, the story is more age appropriate than most episodes of Friends!). Also, lots of Mondler! :D
1. Chapter 1: Monica

_**Chapter 1: Monica**_

Disclaimer: I do not own _Friends_ or any of these characters.

Monica Bing had just woken up from a short nap. Her husband, Chandler, was at work, and her two children were being babysat by their Aunt Phoebe. This meant that Monica finally had time to do what she had been wanting to do for what seemed like almost forever: clean the house.

She looked around the house and realized all of the work that she had to do. Having two 3-month olds had really left the place in disarray. She wouldn't have it any other way of course, but a clean house every now and then would be nice. Plus, she figured that Chandler would be surprised by the fact of how clean the house was once she was finished with it. She grabbed all of her essential cleaning supplies from under the kitchen sink and headed in the bathroom to get started.

As Monica started to clean, memories came back to her. This was a strange side effect of cleaning, but it kept her entertained. Although she had cleaned bathrooms thousands of times, the most vivid memory was the time where she had been cleaning Joey and Chandler's bathroom while Phoebe and Chandler had been trying to see who could out-seduce the other one. She'd been cleaning the bathroom out of boredom (and out of dire need, since Joey and Chandler rarely cleaned it), when she'd suddenly heard Chandler call out "because I'm in love with Monica." As soon as she had heard it, she had ran out of the bathroom in shock. That was the first time they seriously told each other "I love you."

Monica smiled to herself at that memory as she opened one of the bathroom drawers, only to see something that brought on a whole other set of memories: an unused pregnancy test.

As soon as she saw it, the smile began to fade away as painful memories hit her like a ton of bricks. Monica had wanted to have kids as long as she could remember. In fact, she had broken up with her first serious boyfriend, Richard, because he did not share that desire. Although Chandler, who used to have a fear of commitment, did not seem to want kids at first, as their relationship grew more serious he expressed a desire to someday be a father. And so, shortly after they were married, they started trying to get pregnant.

However, after what seemed like forever, Monica still could not get pregnant. They had visited a fertility clinic to try and figure out the problem, and it was then when they realized she was infertile. Monica shuddered to herself as she remembered time after time using the pregnancy tests and seeing the same negative result each time. Eventually, it had gotten to the point where she would cry after seeing the results. She had wanted children so bad, but between Chandler's slow-swimmers and her inhospitable environment, it looked like it wasn't going to happen. Or so they had both thought.

After realizing that they would likely never have biological children and considering all of their options, Monica and Chandler had decided to adopt. And although they had only been looking to adopt one baby, they had instead gotten beautiful twins they named Jack and Erica.

As Monica took a second look at that pregnancy test, she started to smile. That test represented all her and Chandler had overcome by choosing to adopt. Now they had two wonderful children, and they were both becoming great parents (yes, even Chandler).

However, the unused test was still clutter, and clutter was not tolerated in the Bing household. On the other hand, Monica felt bad throwing away something that was unused. Suddenly, she had an idea.

"I'll just use this last test." Monica thought to herself. "That way, it isn't wasted and I can throw it away. Plus, it will be one more reminder that a negative pregnancy test doesn't define me."

She used it, set it on the counter, and continued with her cleaning. It was almost an hour later, and she had almost finished cleaning the kitchen, when she remembered the pregnancy test again. She walked into the bathroom and picked it up, thinking to herself "Oh yeah, stupid infertility, whose got the kids now?" However, as she picked it up, her eyes got big and her mouth dropped.

The test had two stripes on it. It was positive. Monica was pregnant.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello readers! Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but school has kept me crazy busy. Anyway, this is the first _Friends_ fanfiction I've done, so please comment with any complements or constructive criticism you may have. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy it.


	2. Chapter 2: Phoebe

_**Chapter 2: Phoebe**_

Disclaimer: I do not own _Friends_ or any of these characters.

Monica walked to the couch and sat down, her head spinning.

"This can't be happening." she thought to herself. "I can't be pregnant…can I?"

Even though Monica had always wanted to have children, seeing this pregnancy test instilled fear in her. After all, she already had two children. How was she supposed to go through a pregnancy and care for a newborn, all while taking care of her twins? It was already a tag-team effort with Chandler and her friends to take care of the twins: would they be able to add a third child to the mix?

"Chandler…" Monica muttered to herself as she wondered how he would take the news. Although he was a fantastic father, he had freaked out at first when they had realized they would be adopting twins instead of just one baby. He hadn't regretted it, but how would he feel about a third baby? But before she could finishing gathering her thoughts, Phoebe walked it.

"Hey Monica." Phoebe said as she carried the twins in. "I brought your children back just like you wanted."

"Thanks Pheebs." Monica replied hastily as she shoved the pregnancy test in her pocket. "How were they today?"

"They were great!" Phoebe answered with a huge smile. "And it's so great seeing Mike spend time with them. Today he was making little sock puppets to entertain them with. Of course, he had no idea how to make a creative sock puppet, so I set him straight. Anyway, it was so cute."

"Awww." Monica said with a smile. "He's going to make a great dad someday. Are you two still trying to get pregnant?"

"Yeah." Phoebe said with a big grin as she sat down. "The more I see Mike with Jack and Erica, the more I realize how right this is for us. Plus, he was a great dad when we had the rat babies. How much different can it be?"

Monica smiled to herself, fully aware of how different rat babies were from human babies. Still, she didn't want to burst Phoebe's bubble, so she just replied "very true."

"Mon, is everything ok?" Phoebe asked. "You looked upset when I came in."

"No, everything's fine." Monica answered hastily.

"Really?" Phoebe asked inquisitively.

"Yeah."

"Reeeaaallly?"

"Ok, no." Monica replied in a freaked out voice as she pulled the pregnancy test out of her pocket and handed it to Phoebe.

"Oh my gosh, Rachel's pregnant!" Phoebe exclaimed as soon as she saw the pregnancy test.

"What?" Monica said, clearly confused. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Well, the last time there was a pregnancy test in your house, we all thought it was yours, but it turned out to be Rachel's. So naturally, I'm not going to be fooled this time."

"No Phoebe, I'm pregnant." Monica answered.

"Really?" She said with a huge smile as she started jumping up and down and gave Monica a big hug. "That's great!" she said with a laugh. "So what's the problem? Is Chandler not the father?"

"Of course Chandler's the father!" Monica answered, exasperated by Phoebe's suggestion. "The problem is that this wasn't something we were trying for.

"You mean you had no idea you were pregnant?"

"None." Monica answered. "I mean, I've been really tired. But I figured that was because I've been working so hard taking care of Jack and Erica. And I guess I've put on a few pounds, but I figured that was because I haven't really been taking care of myself since we've had the babies."

"You haven't felt sick at all?" Phoebe asked, remembering the morning sickness she had had when she was a surrogate for brother and his wife's triplets.

"Yeah, I guess." Monica answered. "But since I've been so busy with the babies, Chandler's been doing most of the cooking. He's not a great cook, so I just figured it was that."

"Oh true." Phoebe replied. "But wait a minute. I thought you weren't able to get pregnant."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. I mean, I guess that the doctor had said we _most likely_ wouldn't get pregnant, but still…this is a pretty big shock. I'm worried about how Chandler is going to react when I tell him."

"Just think…." Phoebe said, clearly distracted, "If you didn't know you were pregnant, then maybe I could be pregnant right now…how awesome would that be? Oh, wait, focus on Monica's problem, Phoebe, focus woman!" she said as she smacked her forehead. "You mean Chandler doesn't know yet."

"No, I had just seen the results when you walked in." Monica answered as she got up and started to pace. "I don't know how he's going to react. I mean, he freaked out when he found out it was going to be twins. Can he really handle three babies? Forget him, can I even handle three babies?" As she said this, she started to get tears in her eyes.

"C'mon Monica, you can do it." Phoebe answered. "And Chandler is going to be thrilled. You've been telling me all about how much he loves being a dad. Just tell him the more kids you have, the more of a dad he is. And you guys can definitely handle it. Remember, Frank and Alice did it. I mean, it wasn't easy, but they did it."

"True" Monica said slowly, "but we're not Frank and Alice."

"But you guys are much better parents then they are." Phoebe answered bluntly. "Plus, if you guys decide you can't handle three, you could always give one to Mike and me. It would save me nine months of problems."

Monica laughed.

"Yeah, you think I'm kidding…" Phoebe muttered to herself.

"Thanks, Phoebe." Monica said as she wiped away her tears and gave her friend a hug.

"No problem. Do you want me to take the babies so that you can be alone when you talk to Chandler?"

"After you casually mentioned taking one for you and Mike? I'm good, thanks." Monica replied with a grin. "I'll just put them to bed."

"Ok, suit yourself." Phoebe said as she got up from the couch and headed to the door. "Good luck with Chandler. But seriously, I'm sure everything will be fine. Oooh, I should write a song about this. I can call it 'Surprise, I'm Pregnant'"

"Yeah, you might freak Mike out a bit when you start practicing that song at home." Monica told her.

"Oh true…" Phoebe said as she thought about the song. "Well, we'll see. Anyway, bye."

"Bye Phoebe…" Monica said as she shut the door. Still trembling from the shock, Monica fed the babies and put them to bed. She then sat on the couch and turned on the tv, trying to distract herself.

All she could do now was wait for Chandler.


	3. Chapter 3: Chandler

_**Chapter 3: Chandler**_

It was already almost 8:30 in the evening, and Chandler was just getting home from work. Since Monica had quit her job to take care of Jack and Erica, Chandler was having to work more hours to make up the difference in income. After all, it was expensive caring for twins. Still, there was nothing he enjoyed more than coming home to see his wife and two kids.

"Gosh, who would have thought that Chandler Bing, the commitmentphobe, would have a wife and two kids and be happy about it?" Chandler thought to himself as he unlocked the door to their house. "Honey, I'm home." he said with a smile as he came in house.

"Oh, hey Chandler." Monica said as she walked out of the kitchen. "Dinner's ready whenever you are." Watching tv didn't work as a good distraction, so she had decided to make dinner for Chandler instead.

"Really?" Chandler said with a surprised look on his face. Usually when he got home, at least one of the babies was still up, so he usually ended up making dinner while Monica finished putting the kids to bed. "That's great. I take it they both fell asleep easily tonight?"

"Yeah, well they spent the day with Phoebe and Mike, so I imagine they're pretty exhausted after that." Monica answered. However, Chandler noticed that she seemed somewhat distracted, and that she wouldn't really look at him.

"Everything ok?" Chandler asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired." Monica said hastily. "Let's eat."

"Ok." Chandler said. They grabbed their plates, sat on the couch, and ate the meal mostly in silence. Monica had made her chicken parm (one of her best dishes), but something felt off about dinner. Chandler just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"That was a great dinner, Mon." Chandler said. "I really appreciate you making it. I know you must be tired."

"Hmmm? Oh yeah, I'm glad you liked it." Monica said halfheartedly.

"Mon, are you sure everything is ok?" Chandler asked. "Wait, you didn't cook dinner for me because you didn't like how I was cooking did you? I mean, I know you've been getting sick in the morning because of my cooking, but I swear, my dinners are much better. They've never made you throw up!"

"Chandler, it isn't that at all." Monica said with a laugh. She then realized she might as well bring up the elephant in the room now while she had a chance. "Actually, about that…I kind of figured out that it wasn't your cooking that was making me sick."

"Really?" Chandler said. "I knew I could cook!" he exclaimed as he threw his fists in the air. "Wait, what's the problem then? You're not…sick, are you?" he asked slowly, instantly starting to think of the worst possibilities.

"No…well…" Monica stuttered, trying to figure out how exactly to explain the situation. She finally decided to just hand Chandler the pregnancy test. "Here." she said slowly as she looked away.

"Rachel's pregnant?" Chandler said, clearly confused. "Gosh, you'd think Ross could control himself by now."

"Why does everyone think that test is Rachel's!?" Monica yelled as she got up and started pacing.

"Well, you know how it went last time. Everyone thought it was your test, but it was really Rachel's. Besides, if it isn't Rachel's, then who's….." Chandler stopped mid-sentence. "Wait. Monica…is this yours?"

"Mmm hmmm." She replied with tears in her eyes.

"So…you're pregnant? We're having another baby?" Chandler said as all the color drained from his face. He slowly got off the couch and walked over to the window, looking out at their backyard.

"I just took the test today, Chandler." Monica said as she followed Chandler to the window. "I had no idea I was pregnant. I found the test while I was cleaning and decided to take it so I wouldn't be wasting it when I threw it away. I've been freaked out too ever since I saw it was positive. I mean, can we even handle it? Three babies? We thought two was tough, but this?" She stopped, realizing that Chandler was still looking out the window, lost in thought. "Chandler…please say something. You're not upset, are you?"

Chandler turned around, clearly confused. "Mon, why would I be upset?" he said slowly. "I mean, we're having another baby." As he said that, a smile spread across his face. "That's good news."

"But Chandler, three babies. Three babies! Can we really handle this?"

"Monica, you sound like I did when I found out we were having twins." Chandler said with a laugh, before his expression got serious. "Wait, is that why you're scared? Were you afraid I would freak out like last time?"

"Yeah." Monica said softly. "Plus, I'm just not sure we're ready for this."

"Mon…" Chandler said slowly as he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her. "Remember what you told me when Jack and Erica were born? It doesn't matter if we're ready or not. We've been waiting for this, and we didn't think this was ever going to happen. This is our child. You're pregnant with our third child."

Monica remained silent, holding onto Chandler and breathing softly as he continued.

"I mean, we've always dreamed about having four kids, right? Now we're one kid closer. True, it's a bit sooner than we thought it would happen, but still…it's our baby. Monica, you've been wanting this for as long as I can remember knowing you. And I am so excited for us, Mon. Everything's going to be alright, ok? Besides, how great will I look driving a mini-van down the street?"

Monica laughed as she pulled away and looked into his eyes. As he looked back, he softly said, "I can't believe this is happening."

"I know!" she said with a big smile on her face. "I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a baby!"

Chandler smiled at her. "Just hitting you now, isn't it."

"I guess." she said with a smile. "I was so scared that I forgot to be excited."

"It's ok to be excited and scared at the same time, Monica." Chandler said with a laugh as he sat down on the couch. "I mean, I can't judge. I was the one who almost ran out on our wedding. Talk about fear and excitement. Or more like plain old fear" As he said it, Monica gave him a glare. "I swear, it's because I was afraid of being related to Ross." She continued to glare at him, and he conceded. "Fine, still too soon to crack jokes about it."

She sighed as she sat down and cuddled up next to him. "We'll be able to do this, right Chandler?"

"Of course we will. I have complete faith in us."

"I love you, Chandler." she said softly as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I love you too, Mon." he replied. As Chandler looked at her, he realized that she had fallen asleep. That gave him time to think about just how far they had both come in the past few years. A few years ago, there was no way he would have been able to handle something like this. But what he had said to Monica tonight was absolutely true. He knew they could do this. Sure, he was scared. But like he had said earlier, it was ok to be scared and excited at the same time.

He leaned his head on his sleeping wife. His _pregnant_ sleeping wife. He thought about how they would tell their friends the good news. He thought about what the next nine months had in store for them, and what the next eighteen years after that would bring.

And he could not be happier.


	4. Chapter 4: Everyone

_**Chapter 4: Everyone**_

It was the next night, and Monica and Chandler were simply dying to tell their friends the good news. They had already called both sets of parents (who were thrilled about having another grandchild), and had decided to host a dinner that night in order to tell all of their friends. Monica had been cooking while Chandler was watching the babies. They had just put the babies down for a nap, and were talking about how they thought each of their friends would react.

"Well, I bet Phoebe's going to get real excited." Chandler said. "She'll probably start jumping up and down. She may even write a song about us."

"Oh, yeah, she did." Monica replied as she continued to cook. "And she said the song will probably be called, 'Surprise, I'm Pregnant.'"

"You already told her?" Chandler asked. "Seriously, why are we having this dinner again? To give Joey free food?"

"Chandler, she's the only one I told." Monica replied with a bit of an eye roll. "Anyway, I think Ross will get all emotional, and Rachel will probably cry a little."

"Sounds about right." Chandler said. "And it probably take Joey about 10 minutes to realize what we are talking about."

Monica laughed, when suddenly they heard a knock on the door.

"Oh gosh, Chandler, they're here!" Monica exclaimed. "How do I look? Do I look cool? Do I look collected? We've got to be on our A-game Chandler. We can't give it away before we tell them."

"Ok, Mon…" Chandler said slowly. "It's a pregnancy announcement, not a competition. You're fine."

"Are you sure it can't be a bit of a competition?" Monica muttered to herself as Chandler answered the door and let everyone in the house.

"Hi guys." Phoebe said as she gave Monica and Chandler a hug. "You know, I really have no idea why you're hosting this dinner." She said with wink. "But I have some songs prepared for…whatever might happen tonight.

As she walked off, Ross asked Mike, "Dude, don't you ever question the weird things your wife says?"

"I did at first," Mike said thoughtfully, "but I learned it's easier to just go along with it."

"Agreed." Chandler interjected.

They all continued to talk for a few minutes while Monica finished cooking dinner. Then she served the food, and they all sat down to eat.

"So, why'd you guys host this dinner?" Phoebe asked, clearly trying to get Monica and Chandler to spill the good news. Before they could answer, however, Joey interrupted.

"Um, hello! It's free food and beer. Do you need any other reason to host dinner?" Monica, glared at Phoebe for making things awkward. Meanwhile, Chandler noticed that Ross and Rachel seemed to not be listening, and were whispering back and forth to each other.

"What are you whispering like a bunch of grade-school girls for? Is it something you want to share with the class?" Chandler asked them. Ross gave Chandler a glare, but Rachel looked at Ross with a nod.

"Actually, there is something we wanted to say." she said slowly as she stood up. "I mean, we were going to wait until after dinner, but…"

"Yeah" Ross said as he stood up with her. "Um…I know it's a little soon, but I wanted to tell you guys: last night I asked Rachel to marry me."

"And I said yes!" she said with a squeal as she hugged Ross. "We're getting married!"

Monica and Chandler's jaws dropped. While everyone else offered congratulations to the happy couple, Monica and Chandler pulled away to talk about their game plan.

"I can't believe it!" Monica whispered in outrage. "Of all nights to announce their engagement, they had to pick tonight."

"Well, it's not like they could've known." Chandler said slowly. "And you did say that the night they announced their engagement, you would announce that you were pregnant. How that could actually happen, I'll never know."

As he said this, Phoebe walked over.

"Ok guys, we have a major problem." Phoebe said, clearly concerned. "My song won't work with these two getting engaged. Although, it is Ross and Rachel. Maybe there is a 'Surprise, I'm Pregnant' with those two. I should probably go check…"

"Phoebe, stay here!" Monica yelled as quietly as possible. "What are we going to do about tonight?"

"Well, we possibly can't tell them now, can we?" Chandler said. "I mean, this is their night. And remember what happened the last time someone stole someone else's thunder?"

"Nonsense, Chandler!" Monica exclaimed. "It was supposed to be our night. And besides, a pregnancy announcement is worth way more than an engagement announcement."

"According to what, the International Announcement Competition handbook?" Chandler asked sarcastically.

"Monica's right." Phoebe said "I mean, those two have been married before. And Ross has been married loads of times. It's more like he's announcing the daily news than a big surprise. I mean, the headline basically reads _Ross Geller to Marry Again._ Trust me, _Bing Family Announces Surprise Pregnancy_ is a much better headline."

"Why are we talking about newspaper headlines?" Chandler interjected.

"She's right, though." Monica said forcefully. "We just have to find the right way to approach it. We don't want to be rude about it."

"Oh don't worry, I've got that covered" Phoebe answered. Before Monica and Chandler could stop her, she walked over to the rest of the group and yelled "Hey everyone, Monica and Chandler have something they want to say!" She then waved her hand at them, smiled, and sat down.

"Ok then." Chandler said slowly. "Well, hats off to Phoebe for that _thrilling_ introduction. Uh, Monica?"

Monica gave Phoebe a dirty look before continuing for Chandler. "Well first off, I want to congratulate Ross and Rachel on their engagement." Monica said with a nervous smile as she looked at the two of them.

"Yeah, way to go Ross." Joey interjected. "Going for four marriages, huh? Trying to reach a high score?"

"No, Joey, this is my last marriage." Ross said in an irritated tone of voice.

"Anyway." Monica continued. "We're sorry about the bad timing on this, but we actually hosted dinner tonight because there is something we want to tell you."

"Yeah, you see…uh, uh." Chandler tried to say it, but he got nervous. "Uh, Monica?"

"Well, what we're trying to say is…oh, just look." she said as she pulled the pregnancy test out of her pocket. She had been carrying it around all day as a way of reminding herself that she wasn't dreaming, and thought it was the best way to tell the news. It had worked on everyone else so far.

The rest of the gang looked at it, and Joey exclaimed "Rachel's pregnant! Ross, you really should be able to control yourself by now!"

"What?!" Ross said, clearly taken aback. "No, no, Rachel's not pregnant…you're not pregnant are you?" he muttered at her as he looked at her.

"Of course I'm not pregnant!" she said, clearly shocked by the turn of the conversation.

"Joey." Chandler said, looking at him. "Monica's pregnant."

"Well don't look at me, I didn't do it!" Joey yelled. Monica sighed and Chandler put his face in his hands.

"We know that, Joey." Phoebe interjected. "Chandler's the father, I already checked."

Chandler gave her a shocked look, while the rest of the group started to realize what was happening.

"Wait…you guys are having a baby?" Rachel asked with tears in her eyes?

"Mmm hmm." Monica said as she started getting teary eyed too. The two girls ran over and started hugging each other.

"Dude." Ross said with a goofy smile on his face.

"Oh, I don't even care that you stole our thunder!" Rachel said with a smile. "I'm so happy for you guys."

"I know!" Monica exclaimed. "I swear, I wasn't actually planning on announcing it the same night you announced your engagement. Even though I did say I was going to do that a few years ago."

Meanwhile, the guys all started talking about the big announcement.

"Joey, why on earth did you think that I thought you got Monica pregnant?" Chandler asked him, clearly frustrated by Joey's earlier statement.

"Well, it was just the way you were staring at me when you said it." Joey replied hastily.

"Joey, it's called eye contact!" Chandler replied, clearly exasperated.

"Anyway." Ross said, trying to steer the conversation back on track. "Congratulations, man. We're so happy for you guys."

"Thanks." Chandler said with a big grin. "And sorry about stealing your big night."

"Oh, don't worry. I get married all the time, so it's not a big deal. I'm just setting a high score." He said as he glared at Joey.

"Well, don't look at me, I didn't say it." Joey exclaimed. "Or is this more of that eye-contact thing?"

"Uh, Joe?" Chandler interjected. "You did say it, remember?"

"Oh, that's right, I did say that." Joey said with a chuckle.

"Well, we're super excited for you." Mike told Chandler. "Oh and if Phoebe talks about stealing your baby for us, just ignore her. She does that sometimes."

Chandler looked at Mike with a confused face, but before he could say anything, Phoebe started playing her guitar and singing.

"Don't worry Mike, it's not you and me,

But someone is having a baby.

Who will be the new baby handler?

That's right, it's Monica and Chandler!"

As Phoebe continued into a chorus of "la la la" everyone starting laughing and continued talking amongst themselves. Monica and Chandler, meanwhile walked over to each other and started to hug.

"Hear that?" Chandler said. "We're baby handlers."

"Sounds a little freaky." Monica answered. "But don't worry, there's nobody else I'd rather be a baby handler with.

"Including Joey?" Chandler asked, making fun of Joey's insinuation earlier.

"Especially including Joey." Monica replied with a laugh. "Well, this night certainly didn't go the way we planned."

Chandler thought for a moment about his and Monica's relationship before replying with the obvious truth: "Does anything ever go the way we planned?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really hope you have enjoyed reading my story. You can thank my sister for this last one (she told me it simply couldn't end at the previous chapter, which inspired me to write this chapter). Anyway, please comment letting me know what you think of the story. Thanks!


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